Burke changes federal laws for CSG approvals

The Commonwealth is extending its powers to approve, or reject, coal mines and coal seam gas projects.

The federal Environment Minister, Tony Burke, has announced water will be included as a factor when deciding if a project should go ahead.

He says the public expects him to consider the impact of a proposal on water but, until now, he says he has not had the power to consider the resource.

"Whenever I have to, as Australia's Environment Minister, make a decision about approval, or otherwise, for coal seam gas or a large coal mine, people quite properly expect that I will have taken into account by law all the impacts on water resources," he said.

"It's not an unreasonable expectation when the person making the decision is also the Minister for Water."

Federal New England MP, Tony Windsor, has been calling on the government to extend federal environmental powers to cover the potential impacts of coal seam gas wells and mines.

He says the announcement from Tony Burke is one that is not going to please the NSW government.

But he says the community has had enough.

"People have had an absolute gutful of the way in which the previous Labor government and the current Coalition NSW government have been dealing with this issue," he said.

"NSW Energy Minister, Chris Hartcher, he'll just play the tune of, 'This will stop the world as we know it', but it is going to give due process to some very significant resources and the most important resource that we have is our water.